Projection screens are used in a large variety of situations for slide or motion picture projection, television or computer generated image display, or other imagery projection. Screen systems are particularly useful in a home theater or conference room setting. The formatting of the various kinds of imagery projection results in the need for various styles of fixed and movable projection screens. The screens may comprise different materials and have varied textures and optical properties to facilitate viewing of an image projected thereon. These optical properties may include, for example, gain, contrast (e.g., ambient light rejection), resolution, uniformity, projection format, etc. Types of screens that have different optical properties include white matte, silver matte, and pearlescent screens. White matte screens work well in most situations where presentation material is being projected and ambient light is controllable. White screens have about the same brightness from all viewing angles and are widely used. Silver screens are designed with metallic pigments embedded in the material to provide a highly reflective surface. These screens are well suited for 3-D films because they do not de-polarize projected light, which has been polarized to isolate left and right eye content. Silver screens maintain the polarization of the images from the projection source, and provide a brighter image than possible on a white matte screen. In order to accommodate the different styles of projection screens, numerous screen systems are disclosed in the art. Typically, fixed projection screens are silver matte or pearlescent screens, whereas movable projection screens are white matte screens.
In view of the above, it would be desirable to provide a projection screen structure for home theaters, post production and other viewing environments that integrates a fixed screen and a movable screen into a single structure, where said screens have different surfaces with unique optical properties. It would also be desirable to hang the movable screen such that when it is unrolled in the projected position, the screen is located in nearly the same optical plane as the fixed screen. Each screen would thus hang in nearly the same plane, thereby eliminating the need to refocus the optical projection equipment used to project the image on the two screens. Additionally, it would be desirable for each screen's surface perimeter to be matted within a fixed position, light absorbing mask, as opposed to a painted border commonly used on a roller deployed screen surface.